Kazuo Matsui

1. Kosuke Fukudome, OF, Chunichi Dragons A former shortstop, the 26-year-old is an on-base-percentage guy, with enough walks to make Oakland general manager Billy Beane salivate. Last year he set a team record with 106 runs. He also won the 2002 Central League batting title. One major-league scout called Fukudome the best hitter in Japan right now. 2. Kenji Jojima, C, Chiba Lotte Marines Marines manager Bobby Valentine describes Jojima as a legitimate power hitter. 3. Hirotoshi Ishii,...

The Cubs lost out on free-agent Kazuo Matsui on Friday when the Colorado second baseman reportedly agreed to a deal with Houston, but manager Lou Piniella wasn't fazed by the news. Piniella recruited Matsui in a phone call with Matsui and an interpreter recently, though the Japanese player eventually chose the Astros over the Cubs and Rockies. "Matsui is a good player," Piniella said Friday in a press briefing at Wrigley Field. "But we've got a good second baseman in [Mark]

The longer Kerry Wood remains on the free-agent market, the less likely it appears he will return to the Cubs. Several teams have courted Wood, including Boston, which wants him to be the primary right-handed setup man for closer Jonathan Papelbon. General manager Jim Hendry said he has spoken with Wood's agent frequently, but couldn't say whether returning to the Cubs is Wood's priority, as Wood said it was last winter when he became a free agent. "Kerry is getting a lot of action around...

By the time Doug Davis took the mound Friday night for the Arizona Diamondbacks, many young baseball fans on the East Coast were comfortably tucked in their beds. That didn't bode well for the largely unknown and unheralded Diamondbacks, who were hoping to gain more widespread attention while attempting to win Game 2 and gain a split in their best-of-seven National League Championship Series against Colorado. As general partner Jeff Moorad views it, a 7:18 p.m. local time first pitch...

Another Japanese star wants to play in the major leagues. Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui, a seven-time All-Star in Japan, said Monday at a news conference that he has decided to pursue a big-league career in North America. "It's been my dream to play in the majors," Matsui said. "This represents a new challenge for me." Matsui, 28, hopes to follow in the footsteps of Hideki Matsui (no relation) and Ichiro Suzuki, who became major-league stars after coming over from Japan.

White Sox reliever Shingo Takatsu doesn't consider it a possibility, but the fact remains that even at age 35, he could win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Whether players like Takatsu, or Mets rookie shortstop Kazuo Matsui, should be eligible for rookie honors has been a matter of debate for the last couple of years. "When I think of rookies, I think of young guys," Sox reliever Kelly Wunsch said. "It's not necessarily the level of the competition but the level of maturity that comes with...

Tadahito Iguchi would like to follow in Hideo Nomo's footsteps. The White Sox's second baseman acknowledged the path that Nomo paved for Japanese players to play in the United States--particularly pitchers--and Iguchi would like to start a trend for middle infielders. "I think that there will be more of an influence of infielders trying to make the jump over here," Iguchi said through an interpreter before Sunday's game. "We haven't had a catcher from Japan come over here yet. So pretty...

The longer Kerry Wood remains on the free-agent market, the less likely it appears he will return to the Cubs. Several teams have courted Wood, including Boston, which wants him to be the primary right-handed setup man for closer Jonathan Papelbon. General manager Jim Hendry said he has spoken with Wood's agent frequently, but couldn't say whether returning to the Cubs is Wood's priority, as Wood said it was last winter when he became a free agent. "Kerry is getting a lot of action around...

1. Kosuke Fukudome, OF, Chunichi Dragons A former shortstop, the 26-year-old is an on-base-percentage guy, with enough walks to make Oakland general manager Billy Beane salivate. Last year he set a team record with 106 runs. He also won the 2002 Central League batting title. One major-league scout called Fukudome the best hitter in Japan right now. 2. Kenji Jojima, C, Chiba Lotte Marines Marines manager Bobby Valentine describes Jojima as a legitimate power hitter. 3. Hirotoshi Ishii,...

Tadahito Iguchi would like to follow in Hideo Nomo's footsteps. The White Sox's second baseman acknowledged the path that Nomo paved for Japanese players to play in the United States--particularly pitchers--and Iguchi would like to start a trend for middle infielders. "I think that there will be more of an influence of infielders trying to make the jump over here," Iguchi said through an interpreter before Sunday's game. "We haven't had a catcher from Japan come over here yet. So pretty...

The Cubs lost out on free-agent Kazuo Matsui on Friday when the Colorado second baseman reportedly agreed to a deal with Houston, but manager Lou Piniella wasn't fazed by the news. Piniella recruited Matsui in a phone call with Matsui and an interpreter recently, though the Japanese player eventually chose the Astros over the Cubs and Rockies. "Matsui is a good player," Piniella said Friday in a press briefing at Wrigley Field. "But we've got a good second baseman in [Mark]

White Sox reliever Shingo Takatsu doesn't consider it a possibility, but the fact remains that even at age 35, he could win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Whether players like Takatsu, or Mets rookie shortstop Kazuo Matsui, should be eligible for rookie honors has been a matter of debate for the last couple of years. "When I think of rookies, I think of young guys," Sox reliever Kelly Wunsch said. "It's not necessarily the level of the competition but the level of maturity that comes with...

By the time Doug Davis took the mound Friday night for the Arizona Diamondbacks, many young baseball fans on the East Coast were comfortably tucked in their beds. That didn't bode well for the largely unknown and unheralded Diamondbacks, who were hoping to gain more widespread attention while attempting to win Game 2 and gain a split in their best-of-seven National League Championship Series against Colorado. As general partner Jeff Moorad views it, a 7:18 p.m. local time first pitch...

Another Japanese star wants to play in the major leagues. Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui, a seven-time All-Star in Japan, said Monday at a news conference that he has decided to pursue a big-league career in North America. "It's been my dream to play in the majors," Matsui said. "This represents a new challenge for me." Matsui, 28, hopes to follow in the footsteps of Hideki Matsui (no relation) and Ichiro Suzuki, who became major-league stars after coming over from Japan.